History records facts,
dates, and events. Individuals are rarely noted, except on monuments to the dead,
a listing of those killed in war. The towering stone cenotaph to the fallen in
Barrie, Ontario, is one such monument, dedicated to the sons of the city who
lost their lives in great conflicts.

The Cenotaph Project is a new
play inspired by Clint Lovell’s book, The
Boys From Barrie. The project began in late 2018. Theatre by the Bay artists worked with Eastview drama students to
investigate the legacy of WWII in 2019. Analyzing the stories of real soldiers
who fought for their country, these students lifted their stories off the page.
The Cenotaph Project is an attempt to remember history, generations after the
events have passed.

But who were those men, whose names are listed, carved into the towering stone monument in downtown Barrie? Most died young, before they had lived long enough to achieve their dreams. The details are scarce. And though women’s names are missing, many rendered service.

Photo by Laura Joy Photography

The Cenotaph Project, created by Danielle Joy Kostrich, and directed by Leah Holder, has opened in Barrie, Ontario, at the Five Points Theatre.

In the drama, we
watch several of the students given their assignment, to research the names
they are given, mostly of the soldiers who died during World War II. This group
is told to comb the archives, books, letters, etc, to see if they can dig up
information and understand the deceased better. And provide material for a
drama.

In the opening scene, it’s apparent the young students know little of World War II, its causes and how the conflict spread like wildfire across the world. Few understand that an estimated 80 million people died, a number greater than double the present population of Canada. This great conflict, that ended less than 75 years ago, is now all but forgotten. It’s barely recalled that World War II nearly resulted in the end of all the democracies, replaced by a global police state, carved up by various ruthless dictatorships.

Photography by Laura Joy Photography

Initially, the
students/actors are mostly indifferent to this task. As a refresher course,
they act out the surface actions and events that led to war, waving the flags
of the various nations and how they eventually divided up into two major and
opposing alliances, the Allied and the Axis forces.

But as the
students delve deeper into the facts about the men who gave up their lives in
this titanic struggle, the dead begin to reanimate in odd ways, assert their
presence. The students soon find themselves haunted, troubled, and even
possessed by those who have lived in an earlier time. As the young begin to
feel empathy with the fallen, they also find themselves, and their own personal
awakening.

The cast is relentless in exploring the details and emotions of the ones who died in the war, which includes the thousands who died in training, merely being prepared for combat. It’s also discovered how many women worked as auxiliaries, joining the war effort in every area, their heroic work barely noted.

Young actors (students) preparing to play those who died in World War II. Image by Adrienne Callan Photography

The students
enact a series of war scenes. There is one where a nurse has to perform an
emergency medical operation on an officer. There’s a harrowing scene in which a
warship sinks and a soldier drowns.

The total scope of The Cenotaph Project is epic, and the drama itself stands as a monument to the hard work of the playwright, actors, and director. Still, there are imperfections in this script, production, and performance. There are moments when the actors’ voices don’t carry in a theatre the size of Five Points. The actors shift from the present into characters of the past, and the number of storylines can become confusing. The play is long at two hours and a half, and it sometimes lacks the tension needed to grab one’s attention and hold it. But overall, it’s a highly worthy effort, and one must congratulate Iain Moggach, Theatre by the Bay’s new Artistic Director, for taking on this formidable enterprise.

Iain Moggach, new Artistic Director of Theatre by the Bay in Barrie, Ontario, Canada

It is often said
that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But the truth
is, learning isn’t an intellectual exercise; it’s an emotional experience. We are
changed by our experiences and our stories, and The Cenotaph Project belongs firmly in that realm.